Critics' Opinion:
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Published Apr 2009
336 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Paperback Original.
Once upon a time in Manhattan . . .
. . . there stood a pair of fine old brick townhouses on West Tenth Street. One had a blue door with a tarnished brass knocker in the shape of a dolphin. The other was empty. Behind the blue door lived Sadie, the widow of a famous British rocker who died of an overdose, and two of her children, Hamish and Deen.
The children manage to muddle along as best they can with a loving but distracted mother. But their whole world changes when the house next door gets a new owner—a mysterious Southerner who quickly endears himself to his new neighbors, taking them—and their friends—under his protective wing. In doing so, he transforms everything.
Magical, lively, lovely, and unique, The Ballad of West Tenth Street is a contemporary urban fairy tale that delightfully reimagines real life.
"Starred Review. [A]n insightful illustration of how a string of city blocks can feel like home." - Publishers Weekly.
"Starred Review. Her vivid characterizations of these damaged but good-hearted people and the joyous but realistic manner in which she draws New York City come together in an utterly charming fable about the creation of community." - Library Journal.
"Kernan devotes too much space to these supporting players, presumably hoping to evoke Dickens's deep understanding of the entire class ladder. She lacks the chops and seriousness to pull off anything so ambitious. Blurry panorama of an unrealistic city." - Kirkus Reviews.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Marjorie Kernan, a former painter, owns an antiques shop on the coast of Maine. This is her first novel.
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